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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 22, 2014.

Posted: 22 Dec 2014 14:30:59
ARB Newsclips for December 22, 2014. 

This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
of Communications.  You may need to sign in or register with
individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

AIR POLLUTION

Candlestick’s possible implosion raises dust plume health fears
in Bayview. The shell of Candlestick Park may still loom over the
shoreline on The City’s southeast edge, yet it’s no secret that
the old stadium will be brought to its knees soon. However, the
nature of that execution has some people in the Bayview-Hunters
Point worried about health impacts.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/candlesticks-possible-implosion-raises-dust-plume-health-fears-in-bayview/Content?oid=2914933


Fish poisoning: Spanish mackerel case a 'wake-up call' for spread
of deadly toxins. Heidi Hollis was working at an RSL Club in
Evans Head on the northern NSW coast back in February when she
and several colleagues tucked into a lunch of Spanish mackerel.
What followed was months of pain as food poisoning-like symptoms
initially sent her to hospital for several days and left her with
persistent nerve damage.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/fish-poisoning-spanish-mackerel-case-a-wakeup-call-for-spread-of-deadly-toxins-20141221-12ajhy.html


CLIMATE CHANGE

Weird weather lingers in Alaska's largest city. A week before
Christmas, Alaska's largest city should look like a postcard
wonderland, and the last place you'd expect to see equipment
making snow. "We want Santa to bring snow, soon," Terry Goodwin
said as she hit a ski trail in Anchorage on Thursday near
snowmaking machines churning out the white stuff.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ALASKA_WEIRD_WEATHER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-12-19-03-02-13


Wheat yields to fall more than expected in warmer world. Global
warming will cut average wheat yields by six percent for every
degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) of temperature rise in a
bigger-than-expected brake on food production in a hotter world,
a study said on Monday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/climatechange-wheat-idINL6N0U617O20141222


In Jakarta, that sinking feeling is all too real. The Ciliwung
River flows from a volcano south of the Indonesian capital,
through the heart of one of the world’s most densely populated
cities and almost into Jakarta Bay. Almost, because for the final
mile or so of its course, the river would have to flow uphill to
reach the bay.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/uk-sealevel-subsidence-jakarta-idINKBN0K016O20141222


New climate change culprit: Beavers. We were just trying to help.
Turns out the efforts of humankind to save beavers from
extinction over the past century have had an eco-unfriendly side
effect: The animals, whose population has rebounded, are
contributing to climate change…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/21/climate-change-beavers/20728405/


Lawmakers press Obama to rescind climate rule. A group of
bipartisan lawmakers is urging President Obama to withdraw the
administration’s climate regulation on carbon pollution from
existing power plants. In a letter sent to Obama on Friday, 102
members of Congress argue the proposal would “dramatically”
change the way “we generate, transmit and consume electricity in
the United States.”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/227742-lawmakers-press-obama-to-rescind-climate-rule


Falling Oil Prices and the Climate Change Agenda. The latest
falling oil prices to $55.96 (West Texas Intermediate), dropping
from a high of $105 per barrel in June 2014, as a result of
increased domestic oil production from fracking, is making the
price of $150 per barrel of renewables look ridiculously
expensive, not counting the wasted government subsidies in
bankrupt solar power companies.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/68501 

Alberta punts on new climate regulations as Obama slams Keystone
XL. The province overseeing the Canadian oil sands is delaying a
decision about its carbon regulations until the middle of next
year, deferring a chance to shift its existing climate policies
before the U.S. Congress reconsiders Keystone XL. Previously,
Alberta had been set to update its existing carbon policies this
month. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010910/print


Could climate change be the Grinch that steals Christmas? The
winter holidays are a time to gather together, celebrate, stuff
ourselves with figgy pudding and otherwise forget all about the
travails of the outside world. But much like a certain nasty
green fellow who lives in the vicinity of Whoville, climate
change doesn't show much respect for hallowed holiday traditions.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010904/print 

Scientists discuss lessons learned during a 20-year fight with
climate change deniers. Two decades ago, Benjamin Santer chose 12
words that changed his life forever: "The balance of evidence
suggests a discernible human influence on global climate." That
statement was part of the 1995 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change's report, and it was the first time the international
scientific organization had linked human activity to climate
change.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010911/print 

DROUGHT

Beavers could help California fight effects of drought. Three
punishing years of drought have parched California streams,
rivers and wetlands. One animal has the potential to restore
these dry landscapes. With their industrial-strength buck teeth
and flat tails, beavers and their dams offer a defense against
drought. The rodents are known as ecosystem engineers.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article4767285.html#storylink=cpy
  

Drought: December rainfall breaks records but California needs
more. Record December rainfall has shaken the dust off
California’s four-year drought by piling up snowpack in the
Sierras and returning flows to near-empty reservoirs. But a
forecast of dry, sunny weather for the next 10 days has left
drought-watchers concerned that the old weather
pattern…http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/general-news/20141220/drought-december-rainfall-breaks-records-but-california-needs-more


Drought, then deluge pits neighbor against neighbor over water
rates in Santa Cruz Mountains.  All this rain is causing a revolt
in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It's a little one, in a little
neighborhood of 118 households. But the tensions are deeper than
the slowly rising Lexington Reservoir just below, and as
turbulent as Los Gatos Creek after a month of storms.
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_27178451/drought-then-deluge-pits-neighbor-against-neighbor-over?source=rss


California needs 11 trillion gallons of rain to end drought, JPL
says. Although December storms have provided the Southland with
above-average rainfall, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
scientists said it will still take about 11 trillion gallons of
water — about 1.5 times the volume of America’s largest reservoir
— to recover from California’s long-standing drought.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_27179359/california-needs-11-trillion-gallons-rain-end-drought


DIESEL EMISSIONS

Royal Caribbean to cut emissions on 19 ships. Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. will use new pollution-reducing scrubbers to "meet
or exceed" environmental standards, officials said. The company
announced plans to retrofit 13 Royal Caribbean and six Celebrity
Cruises ships with scrubber technology, each installation to take
about eight months.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2014/12/22/royal-caribbean-to-cut-emissions-on-19-ships/20763529/


FUELS

NY farmers lament lost opportunity for gas riches. While
environmental groups are doing a victory dance over New York's
decision to ban fracking, farmers such as apple grower David
Johnson are grieving for dashed hopes and dreams. "I'm
devastated," Johnson said after Gov. Andrew Cuomo's health and
environmental commissioners announced Wednesday that they were
recommending a fracking ban.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_DRILLING_DASHED_HOPES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


West Sacramento says no to ethanol trains. The city of West
Sacramento and a Texas-based gasoline company are battling over
whether it’s riskier to ship large amounts of ethanol through
city streets on trains or on tanker trucks – a dispute that last
week spilled into court. Every day, six train cars full of the
fuel additive arrive at a mixing terminal on West Sacramento’s
riverfront south of Highway 50. 
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article4779009.html#storylink=cpy


Officials OK perks for Iowa vegetable oil plant. State and local
officials have approved $3.1 million in incentives for an Omaha,
Nebraska, soybean processor to build a $90 million vegetable oil
refinery in northwestern Iowa. An agreement approved Friday by
the Woodbury County Board will exempt Ag Processing Inc. from
$2.1 million in county property taxes through 2024…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4737102.html#storylink=cpy


Coming in 2015: A gas price increase that consumers may or may
not notice. Drivers across the central San Joaquin Valley are
enjoying an ongoing drop in the cost of gasoline, with fuel
prices hitting levels not seen since 2009. In a few weeks,
however, the price will go up — guaranteed. It’s all part of
California’s effort to combat global climate change.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/12/20/4296341_coming-in-2015-a-gas-price-increase.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy


Oil’s 50% Drop From 2014 High Stokes Faith in Rally. The slump in
oil that drove U.S. prices down as much as 50 percent from this
year’s high is spurring the most bullish bet by hedge funds in
four months.  Speculators expanded their net-long position in
West Texas Intermediate crude by 14 percent in the week ended
Dec. 16, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-12-21/oil-s-50-percent-drop-from-high-of-2014-stokes-faith-in-a-rally-energy


Santa Comes Early at Pump With Gasoline's Drop to Lowest Since
2009. The average price of regular gasoline at U.S. pumps slid to
the lowest level since May 15, 2009, dropping 24.68 cents in the
two weeks ended Dec. 19 to $2.4713 a gallon, according to
Lundberg Survey Inc. Prices are 79.05 cents lower than a year
ago, according to the survey…
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-12-21/u-dot-s-dot-gasoline-falls-to-2-dot-4713-a-gallon-in-lundberg-survey


Obama Says Keystone Pipeline Will Have Little Impact on U.S. Gas
Prices. The President's comments come as Republican leader Mitch
McConnell has said his party's first act in the new Senate would
be to pass a bill fast-tracking approval of the $8 billion
project. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday that
construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to transport crude oil
from Canada to the U.S. Gulf
Coast…http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/obama-says-keystone-pipeline-will-have-little-impact-on-u-s-gas-prices/
 

Fracking Fumes: Where There's a Well, All is Not Well. Emissions
from oil-and-gas production pose a significant threat to human
health, and immediate steps must be taken to reduce exposure to
the toxic pollution, according to an analysis of scientific
studies by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141222/fracking-fumes-where-theres-well-all-not-well?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=2fee720a14-InsideClimate_News12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-2fee720a14-327749509
 

VEHICLES

Tesla to Install First Battery Swap Facility. Battery Swaps Would
Be Faster Than Charging But Come With Cost. Tesla Motors Inc.
said Friday in a corporate blog post that it will install its
first battery swap facility in California and invite some owners
of the Model S electric sedan to participate at a “cost slightly
less than a full tank of gasoline for a premium sedan.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-to-install-first-battery-swap-facility-1419020657


Researchers look beyond tailpipes to check emissions of green
vehicles. Alternative passenger vehicles like electric or
biofuel-powered cars are thought to be less environmentally
harmful than their gasoline-guzzling counterparts. But their fuel
still can have significant impacts on carbon emission levels as
well as on human health.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010899/print 

GREEN ENERGY

Energy-Storage Plans Gain Ground in California. In an unusual
competition in California, proposals for energy storage systems
beat out hundreds of bids to construct new power plants as a way
to meet peak power needs. Southern California Edison has retired
its San Onofre nuclear reactors and is planning to retire natural
gas units with environmentally troublesome cooling systems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/22/business/energy-environment/california-picks-energy-storage-over-some-new-power-plant-bids.html?_r=2


Californians pay for Bay Bridge flaws, but wind farm recoups
costs from same contractor. This is a tale of two projects. One –
the $6.5 billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge – is the
largest public works project in state history. (More
specifically, its $2 billion suspension-span segment.) The other
– the $1.8 billion Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm in the
North Sea off Suffolk, England – is one of the world’s biggest
wind-energy projects.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/bay-bridge/article4748610.html#storylink=cpy


Sunflower Floating Solar Power Plant In Korea. South Korean PV
module manufacturer SolarPark Korea has supplied modules to the
first floating solar PV power plant in the country, the prototype
Sunflower Solar Power Plant, which uses a tracking and rotating
system. According to SolarPark Korea, the tracking system rotates
the PV plant so that the modules face the most sun throughout the
day.
http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/sunflower-floating-solar-power-plant-korea/

Changing human behavior could go a long way in curbing building
emissions, researchers say.  An LED light bulb won't save much
energy if it's left on all night. And an airtight home won't cut
your heating bill if someone leaves a window open. Without
changes in behavior, even the most energy-efficient technologies
will have a negligible impact on utility bills and greenhouse gas
emissions.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060010907/print 

OPINIONS

An upside of high-speed rail? It's more traveler friendly than
flying. In the holiday spirit, here's something cheerful to say
about the California bullet train if Gov. Jerry Brown ever gets
it assembled: It would be a whole lot more passenger-friendly
than demeaning air travel. No torturous, long security lines. No
stripping off your belts and shoes. No pat-downs or X-rays. No
inhuman stares. No re-dressing. Instead, Welcome Aboard.
http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-cap-bullet-train-20141222-column.html


Amid climate change, what's more important: Protecting money or
people? At the latest round of international climate talks this
month in Lima, Peru, melting glaciers in the Andes and recent
droughts provided a fitting backdrop for the negotiators'
recognition that it is too late to prevent climate change, no
matter how fast we ultimately act to limit it. They now confront
an issue that many had hoped to avoid: adaptation.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1222-boyce-climate-change-adaptation-costs-20141218-story.html


The answer on human-caused climate change is in. As our planet
warms, scientists and the general public are increasingly asking
if human-caused climate change influences the extreme weather
events we see all around us. Until recently, the answer was
always “we don’t know yet.” Today, the answer is increasingly
“yes.” Earth is in a remarkable transition from a world in which
human influence on climate…
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article4703142.html#storylink=cpy


OTHER VIEWS: A slight deal is better than no deal on climate.
Ever since negotiators failed to agree on a climate accord in
Copenhagen five years ago, diplomats have been trying for a big,
international do-over. Talks in Lima, Peru, this month put this
effort on track to conclude an agreement in Paris next year. The
trade-off is that the accord will be insufficiently ambitious and
difficult to enforce…
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/opinion/national-voices/x34742063/A-slight-deal-is-better-than-no-deal-on-climate


Guest commentary: Southern California and conservation:
Respecting water's limits. This paper recently questioned
Southern California's commitment to water conservation based on a
single month ("Southern California's Sad Conservation Record" --
Dec. 13). Had the editorial examined roughly 50 years of Southern
California's conservation performance -- success over the past
generation and plans for no additional supplies from Northern
California…
http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_27166097/guest-commentary-southern-california-and-conservation-respecting-waters



Harper’s ‘green shift’ leaves us guessing: Editorial. When
Parliament resumes the opposition should try to pin Stephen
Harper down on just what he’s prepared to propose to our major
trading partners, to fight climate change. Putting a price on
Canada’s carbon emissions to help save the planet? Prime Minister
Stephen Harper has always shot down the idea of a “job-killing
carbon tax.”
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2014/12/22/harpers_green_shift_leaves_us_guessing_editorial.html


Our View: That old familiar refrain: Rain is nice, but it’s not
enough. This rain is helping a lot, but the fact that it's
helping a lot isn't really helping us cope with the drought.
Twisted thinking, yes, but true. It's a common refrain every time
a storm system moves over the area and drops a good deal of
moisture and we do a news report about the weather phenomenon:
"It's a nice rain, but the drought is not over."
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/opinion/our-view-that-old-familiar-refrain-rain-is-nice-but/article_ca6e60a8-88e0-11e4-9a6c-c3446e1b40b1.html


CEQA Reform Should Separate Legit Complaints from Project Haters.
The response I hear most often when the subject of reforming the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) comes up is a heavy
sigh. Everyone thinks it should happen, but no one’s especially
confident that it will. That’s unfortunate, because while
California was ahead of the curve when it passed CEQA in 1970…
http://voiceofsandiego.org/2014/12/19/ceqa-reform-should-separate-legit-complaints-from-project-haters/


BLOGS

We need strong national methane rules. Here's how we get there.
New York’s statewide ban on fracking is a vindication for
communities around the country that have been hit hard by
unconventional natural gas production, writes Fred Krupp,
Environmental Defense Fund’s president, in a Dec. 22 op-ed piece
in The Washington Post. It demonstrates what can happen when oil
and gas producers erode public trust by brushing aside legitimate
questions…
http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2014/12/22/we-need-strong-national-methane-rules-heres-how-we-get-there/


Climate change by the numbers: The cold data that drove a
record-hot year. Is it hot enough yet? Will 2015 finally be the
year we do something? 2014 was hot. Almost certainly the hottest
year on record, and the latest point on a graph that’s been
trending upward since we first began pumping heat-trapping
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
http://www.salon.com/2014/12/22/climate_change_by_the_numbers_the_cold_data_that_drove_a_record_hot_year/


Why Climate Change Isn’t a Sputnik Moment. Military technology
can’t innovate us out of this one. Here we go again. Another
year, another inconclusive climate change summit. The grim
reality haunting the talks that recently wrapped up in Lima,
Peru, is that any targets, goals, or agreements will ultimately
depend on a transformation of the world energy system.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/12/climate_change_isn_t_a_sputnik_moment_why.html


This is the kind of climate bill Congress should pass (but
won’t). The Senate’s two leading climate hawks, Sheldon
Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, are
pushing a bill that would make the U.S.’s climate policy rational
and coherent. The climate-denying Republicans controlling
Congress won’t pass it, of course, but it’s important to keep the
conversation going.
http://grist.org/climate-energy/this-is-the-kind-of-climate-bill-congress-should-pass-but-wont/


Pacific winds change the speed of global warming, says new study.
The strength of the trade winds that cross the Pacific can affect
how quickly the planet warns, new research suggests. By analyzing
the chemical makeup of corals in the tropical Pacific,
researchers have found that changing wind patterns affected how
quickly the Earth warmed during the last century.
http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2014/12/pacific-winds-change-the-speed-of-global-warming-says-new-study/


The 10 Worst Environment And Climate Media Fails Of 2014. This
year was a big one for environment and climate news. America
moved to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants for the
first time. China entered into a historic climate deal with the
U.S., and 100 governments signed off on the most comprehensive
report on climate science yet.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/22/3603714/climate-media-fails-2014/


Tesla Battery Swapping, EPA Carbon Regulations, Another 2016
Chevy Volt Teaser: Today's Car News. Today we've got news of a
pilot program for Tesla Model S electric-car battery swapping, a
delay for EPA regulations that would limit carbon emissions from
power plants, and yet another teaser for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt
electric car.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096021_tesla-battery-swapping-epa-carbon-regulations-another-2016-chevy-volt-teaser-todays-car-news

 
Siemens unveils first series production EV with RACE architecture
and system. Siemens has unveiled the first electric series
production vehicle with the central electronics and software
architecture RACE. (Earlier post.) This technology, developed in
the research project of the same name, replaces the entire
control system with standard hardware and a kind of “operating
system for automobiles.”
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141222-siemens.html 

Toyota Mirai Test Drive, Tesla Drag Race, Cleaner Electric Cars:
The Week In Reverse (Video). Which promise made by electric-car
maker Tesla Motors took 18 months to come to fruition? And what's
the 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle really like to
drive? Friday, we had a brief exclusive on the first Tesla
battery-swapping station, which will open next week in Harris
Ranch, California.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095981_toyota-mirai-test-drive-tesla-drag-race-cleaner-electric-cars-the-week-in-reverse-video


ETH team develops catalytic process to make lactic acid from
glycerol biodiesel byproduct; 20% lower CO2 than fermentation
pathway. Researchers at ETH Zürich developed an eco-friendly
cascade process to make large amounts of lactic acid from
glycerol, a waste by-product in the production of biodiesel.
Polylactic acid (PLA) is a promising alternative for making
plastics, as it is biodegradable and made from renewable
resources.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/12/20141222-eth.html 

2014-2015 Mercedes Diesel Models Recalled For Possible Oil Leak.
Mercedes-Benz is recalling certain 2014 and 2015 BlueTec diesel
vehicles to address an issue that could potentially lead to
hazardous oil leaks. The recall of 4,871 E 250 BlueTec sedans and
GLK 250 and ML 250 BlueTec SUVs is meant to repair a loose
chain-tensioner gasket.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096010_2014-2015-mercedes-diesel-models-recalled-for-possible-oil-leak






California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.

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